Applying therapy to various parts of a body is a recognized practice for curing or alleviating multiple kinds of physical problems. One example therapy involves cooling an injured portion of a body by applying ice packs near the injured portion of the body in an effort to reduce swelling, inflammation and/or muscle pain. Another cooling method utilizes a cold pack that generates cooling via an endothermic chemical reaction which takes place within the cold pack.
Another example therapy utilizes heat to treat symptoms such as stiffness, muscle pain, cold hands and feet, lumbago, rheumatism and neuralgia (among others). Some known heat-treating methods include direct application of heat to the body using items such as a towel, jelly and/or paste. Another example heating therapy includes applying a heating pad to an injured portion of a body to alleviate discomfort caused by injury (e.g., muscular strain).
There are other heat-treating methods that utilize heat patches to apply heat to a body. One such heat patch generates heat via an exothermic chemical reaction that takes place within the heat patch. Heat patches that generate heat using an exothermic reaction typically include an enclosure and a heating composition stored within the enclosure. At least a portion of the enclosure is gas-permeable such that exposing the heating composition to air generates a heat-producing exothermic reaction within the heat patch.
Some other therapies include applying an analgesic (for pain) or an antibiotic (for infection) to the injured portion of the body. The analgesic and/or antibiotic may be incorporated into a pack/patch that is applied directly or indirectly to the body.
One concern with using heating pads and ice bags is that they are difficult to attach to an injured area of a body because they often need to be manually held in place by the injured person or someone assisting the injured person.
One method of maintaining hot or cold packs in place against an injured area of the body includes placing a pack against the body and wrapping a towel several times around the body such that the pack is sandwiched between the injured area and the towel. The free end of the towel is then is attached to an exposed and already-wrapped section of the towel to prevent the towel from unwinding.
Wrapping towels around the body in this manner can be quite cumbersome. Furthermore, the towels are seldom able to maintain a pack in its desired location, especially when a patient moves around. In addition, when a towel is wrapped more tightly around the body in an attempt to help keep the ice or cold pack in place, the towel may cause patient discomfort.
Another method of treating an injured area of a body includes using a elastic band to support the injured area of the body. Elastic bands may also be used to hold hot or cold packs against the injured area of the body.
As discussed above, many of the packs that generate a chemical reaction within the pack require access to the air in the ambient environment in order to maintain the chemical reaction. One concern with using a elastic band to secure this type of pack to a body is that the elastic band covers the gas-permeable portions of the pack thereby inhibiting the chemical reaction.
Another concern with using elastic bands to hold hot or cold packs against the injured area of the body is that they must typically be discarded along with the pack once the chemical reaction has expired within the pack. Therefore, an entirely new elastic band is required to hold a new pack against the injured area of the body.
Some elastic bands include pockets that are adapted to retain hot or cold packs. The packs are positioned against an injured portion of a body as the elastic band is wrapped around the body.
One drawback with including pockets in elastic bands is that the pockets add unwanted expense to the cost of producing elastic bands. A pocket also limits the size and/or number of pack(s) that may be inserted into the pocket. In addition, pockets often provide inadequate support to a pack, especially when the pocket is much bigger than the pack.